SOILS OF MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 23 



sandstone and shale formations extend. On these elevations are 

 found the soils of importance for fruit growing, as far as the Con- 

 necticut Valley Basin is concerned. Some of the prominent locations 

 are the eastern side of Pocumtuck Mountain in Deerfield, Taylor Hill 

 in the town of Montague, parts of the Mount Pisgah district in Gill, 

 Mount Warner in Hadley, and some of the lower slopes and eleva- 

 tions of the Holyoke Range. In Connecticut sites just as favorable 

 occur along the Talcott and Higby-Beseck Ranges, and the many 

 smaller elevations. 



The soils of these elevations, and also those of the Westfield- 

 Farmington Valley Basin, have been derived from the glaciated 

 residuum of the Triassic red sandstone and pinkish conglomerates. 

 They are grouped as the Wethersfield, the Middlefield, and the Tal- 

 cott series in the order of their extent. As some of these soils have 

 been more extensively developed for peach growing than those of 

 the other series the most important soil types are here described in 

 detail. 



In Massachusetts the most common type in the Wethersfield series 

 is the sandy loam, but the loam is also of importance. The surface 

 of the former consists of gray, salmon, or pinkish-gray sandy loam 

 or loamy sand from 6 to 10 inches deep. The subsoil is variable, 

 ranging from a sandy loam to a silty loam. The latter usually 

 contains enough medium or coarse sand to make it somewhat gritty, 

 the grains of sand being sharply contrasted in color with the heavier 

 red matrix soil materials. 



The Wethersfield loam consists of red silty loam to an average 

 depth of 8 inches. It usually contains enough medium sand to be 

 somewhat gritty. The subsoil is a gritty loam or sandy clay loam. 

 In Massachusetts most of the series is somewhat stony, and a good 

 bit of it is very much so. In Connecticut this series is much better 

 developed. The average texture is heavier, the silty loam occurring 

 in extensive areas, and a much smaller percentage is stony. Thus 

 the average productiveness is much greater in Connecticut than in 

 Massachusetts. 



The Wethersfield soils are normally a little less productive than 

 the Gloucester series. This difference is greater, however, in Massa- 

 chusetts than in Connecticut. Not only is the forest growth lighter, 

 but the percentage of soft-wood varieties is greater. Grasses do not 

 hold as long either in meadow or in pasture, and it is generally con-, 

 sidered that tilled crops require a little higher fertilization. The 

 soils are well drained and crops mature a little earlier than on the 

 Gloucester soils. The sandy loam is a favorite soil locally for early 

 potatoes. In Massachusetts peaches have been grown successfully 

 in some instances, and there is a good opportunity for the extension 



